Basement Flooring

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scott_b

Member
Our place on Gogebic has a walk out basement that half of it is nearly finished (all paneled, fireplace, bar, etc) just needs a floor. The existing floor is concrete that is solid, but not smooth or level. The floor slopes to the center with ~ 1.5-2" of pitch over ~ 20'. If you place a straight edge on the floor some areas have nearly 1/4" of variation (dips) over the course of a 4' straight edge. I do not believe there is a vapor barrier under the concrete, certainly no insulation under the slab. I have never seen any water issues in the basement.

I would like to get some type of resilient flooring in the basement, ideal attributes would be that it provide some insulation from the coldness of the concrete, not be damaged by wetness of boots and snowmobile gear (would be nice to enter the house through the basement after sledding) and ideally be DIY friendly. My plan before seeing how uneven the floor is was to put down a laminate floor with a good vapor barrier/pad to insulate the floor a little. Given the floor condition I think this is out of the question. I also do not believe that any type of self leveler would be a viable solution for ~ 600 sq ft of space.

Any suggestions for a floor type or how to make a laminate work?
 
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dblshock

New member
o.k. they make self leveling compounds, search Cemrex to get the right mix for your condition, a level floor is a must for laminate. If your going to do laminate make sure it's a beveled edge type, cheaper sq. edge laminate is almost always a problem. (I'd avoid laminate in a seasonal home)
... level the floor best as possible and look at commercial/industrial carpet tile..they're cushioned backed and can be installed with sticky tape on the corners, then, if damaged popped out and replaced with little effort, they also offer moisture resistance and some insulation value....g/l
 
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Team Elkhorn

Guest
We "temporarily" installed a better quality rubber backed indoor/outdoor carpet in our basement. It was easy to do ourselves at the time, and we planned to replace it in a year or two. But its held up well for 12 years and its easy to keep clean. And surprisingly hasn't even begun to smell funky yet, with snowmobile boots and the dogs tracking in snow, grass, etc.
 
Admin

Admin

Administrator
Staff member
No useful tips from me, but looks like some good info so far.

My question is, who poured the basement slab, Helen Keller? My apologies in advance if it was you! :eek:

-John
 
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scott_b

Member
Thanks guys.

If I were to use a self leveler is there an issue with getting the leveler to nearly 2" thick?

LOL, Nice John,

Chances are it was my step fathers Uncle. The guy built one heck of a home and his attention to detail was amazing but it would appear as though concrete was not his strong suit. I would suspect a couple fellow Yooper's and a few cases were involved too...
 
garyl62

garyl62

Active member
How much room do you have between the floor height and the door threshold? There is a product out there in 2'x2' squares that is essentially a osb tongue and groove square with plastic pads on the bottom. As you get to uneven areas you build it up with shims. Not sure if you can go 2", but you could cut some 2X material to make filler strips to take up a lot of the space. Then if you have enough room at the threshold you could install a finished floor over the top. I know someone who installed this product and then sealed it so it acted as the finished floor, as they wanted a dance type of floor. Not cheap but worked great for them and may solve your uneven issues. Would be time consuming too with all the shimming you'd need to do.

Here is link to it at Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/p/DRIcore-...pen-Subfloor-Panel-CDGNUS750024024/202268752#
 
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ezra

Well-known member
why not just electric heat the walking areas with a 1/8 ish skim of lever over heat cable then put down a mid price porcelain tile u can float the discrepancy's with mortar and just follow the curve of the existing floor if u dont go with a big tile like anything over 12x12 done for ever
 
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catalac

Active member
ezra said:
why not just electric heat the walking areas with a 1/8 ish skim of lever over heat cable then put down a mid price porcelain tile u can float the discrepancy's with mortar and just follow the curve of the existing floor if u dont go with a big tile like anything over 12x12 done for ever
Click to expand...

Thats a winner right there.
 
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ezra

Well-known member
no thats a long weekend for a home owner only 600 sf.
I would go with the indoor out door or better yet we did some commercial carpet squares in my buds motel they worked out grate. figured could replace trashed squares as needed been 3 yrs and 0 have had to be swapped out tough as nails .
has a plastic/rubbery bottom that u glue down with a tacky adhesive U roll on.
most of the commercial stuff is built to withstand chair wheels coffee heavy foot traffic would last for ever in a basement and if u did drop a open jug of oil U can just replace the carpet tiles u runed in about 20 min.
Google them lots to pick from
 
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anonomoose

New member
Before all the days of fancy, squares and do it yourself processes. Folks used to build up a sub-layer over the entire area with strips of wood, then go over that with sub-flooring that was not even tongue and groove. This provided a vapor break, prevented the damp/cold from entering and gave you a true level floor for carpet or wood layer on top of that. If this messed with the threshold, you simply left a 6 foot box out so the door could swing in and shoes could be parked there.

With a cheap laser level, shooting a beam around the area, this should be a snap. If there is a downside to it, you could not place anything heavy down there such as pool table or freezer without pre-planning where it would sit to beef up under it.

Then you could just replace the carpet once in awhile or anything else you want to go with as your mood changes. Insulates very well, and stops the wicking of moisture. It stays warm, will be as level as you want it to be.
 
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polarisrider1

New member
anonomoose said:
Before all the days of fancy, squares and do it yourself processes. Folks used to build up a sub-layer over the entire area with strips of wood, then go over that with sub-flooring that was not even tongue and groove. This provided a vapor break, prevented the damp/cold from entering and gave you a true level floor for carpet or wood layer on top of that. If this messed with the threshold, you simply left a 6 foot box out so the door could swing in and shoes could be parked there.

With a cheap laser level, shooting a beam around the area, this should be a snap. If there is a downside to it, you could not place anything heavy down there such as pool table or freezer without pre-planning where it would sit to beef up under it.

Then you could just replace the carpet once in awhile or anything else you want to go with as your mood changes. Insulates very well, and stops the wicking of moisture. It stays warm, will be as level as you want it to be.
Click to expand...
Only issue with that old school idea is ceiling height. A roll on vapor barrier or sheet plastic needs to go on concrete first doing it that way.
 
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polarisrider1

New member
My way to deal with it: clean floor of all dust, prime floor, screed Mapei 4 in mud bed mix to bring up to 1/4" low of highest point in the floor. Use Tec (HP fuller) self leveler to bring to plane. Install ditra by Schluter for your vapor barrier. Install porcelain tile on top. Add Nuheat if money allows. Free estimates.
 
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garyl62

garyl62

Active member
ezra said:
no thats a long weekend for a home owner only 600 sf.
I would go with the indoor out door or better yet we did some commercial carpet squares in my buds motel they worked out grate. figured could replace trashed squares as needed been 3 yrs and 0 have had to be swapped out tough as nails .
has a plastic/rubbery bottom that u glue down with a tacky adhesive U roll on.
most of the commercial stuff is built to withstand chair wheels coffee heavy foot traffic would last for ever in a basement and if u did drop a open jug of oil U can just replace the carpet tiles u runed in about 20 min.
Google them lots to pick from
Click to expand...

These are great for stuff like this. I get them from work a lot, got stacks of them. We swap them out often with stains that don't come out. Guys just trowel on the adhesive, then when you change them out there is enough left on the floor to make the new one stick. I use them at the shop, coming into the house from the garage, and have decided if I want to convert the trailer to a man cave like Ezra, I'd put them in there. Problem with mine is that they are used so there is the tacky glue on the back. Buying new ones aren't cheap, but they will last a life time. Only thing is this won't help with the leveling side of the project.
 
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ezra

Well-known member
I agree with the leveling but I think they would conform to the waves and if a real bad spot some self level would fix the worst of it.
to me would be at the top of my list .with the plastic/rubber back u get the vapor and some light insulation ez install and can do a bit at a time and go back to ridding or fishing then get back at it u know the 1 yr plan that can run over to 5 or 6 yrs in the corners and behind the couch kind of thing.
buy the matching base and make it real ez.
ok your decision has been made get to work
 
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